FEATURE: Dollie Jewellery’s marketing makeover

When the Company of Master Jewellers (CMJ) took on the Dollie brand, one of the first tasks at hand was to ascertain its target audience. Professional Jeweller speaks to CMJ chief executive, Willie Hamilton, and director of FACETS PR, Sarah Carpin to find out how the potential of this popular brand was enhanced.

“First and foremost we felt Dollie was a fun and feisty brand. This didn’t quite match its presentation and model imagery, which originally had a serious, almost nonchalant attitude,” explains Sarah Carpin, director of FACETS PR.

It established that Dollie’s customers were 90% female, predominantly in their early twenties and both self-purchasing and gifting. With the help of a new photoshoot campaign, the brand was lifted from its ‘rock chick’ stance to a more universal, more accessible and more playful, Dollie.

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Willie Hamilton explains of the brand: “As Dollie Jewellery grows, we’ll be exploring further into product placement. Given the target audience, the marketing strategy will begin with fashion blogger partnerships together with celebrity gifting, with a focus on digital campaign work. Signing up a celebrity ambassador is the next step on. Retail partners who decide to take Dollie Jewellery can be assured that we will be investing heavily in PR and marketing in order to raise brand awareness and support sell-through.

“Our new distribution arm is keeping a watchful eye on the trends within the jewellery world and it will continue to do so. The Dollie concept is simple and the brand reflects the trend of the moment within a defined market. Karen’s team’s enthusiasm for the brand and its products has been a major part of the success, but the bracelets have sold so well because it’s a product that is ‘of the moment’ with the right price point.”

Read the full report in this month’s (May 2016) issue of Professional Jeweller, available to download now.